Unit Value

UNIT VALUE

Academic credit is measured on the Carnegie Semester Hour (Unit) System. One Carnegie unit of credit is earned as follows:

● Special Topics Courses: During an academic semester, one unit of credit is awarded for one hour (50 minutes) of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately 15 weeks. Special topics courses are indicated with the course code SPTO and are offered by an individual department to meet the interest of Woodbury University students.

● Lecture Courses: During an academic semester, one unit of credit is awarded for one hour (50 minutes) of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately 15 weeks.

● Laboratory Courses: During an academic semester, one unit of credit is awarded for two hours (100 minutes) of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of four hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately 15 weeks.

● Studio Courses: During an academic semester, one unit of credit is awarded for two hours (100 minutes) of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of four hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately 15 weeks.

● Independent Study: During an academic semester, one unit of credit is awarded for a minimum of three hours (150 minutes) of student work per week for approximately 15 weeks. Independent study must be approved by the department chair and designed based on specific learning outcomes that are verifiable through the assessment of student achievement. Students will define the research topic and, with the assistance of their faculty sponsors, develop the syllabus, including a course description, learning outcomes, research criteria, assignments, and a weekly schedule. Regular periodic meetings with sponsoring faculty members are required.

● Directed Study: During an academic semester, one unit of credit is awarded for a minimum of three hours (150 minutes) of student work per week for approximately 15 weeks. Students are permitted to individually study an existing course’s content through a directed experience that is supervised and controlled by faculty and approved by the department chair. Regular periodic meetings with sponsoring faculty are required, and the work must be focused on learning outcomes and verifiable through the assessment of student achievement.

● Internship: A minimum of 40 hours per unit of credit is required. Host companies must be approved by the department chair and company supervisors must agree to place the student in a position that will benefit not only their organization, but will add to the student’s education in a meaningful manner.

● Hybrid Courses: During an academic semester, one unit of credit is awarded for a minimum of three hours (150 minutes) of student work per week for approximately 15 weeks. All courses offered in this format shall include regular effective contact between instructor and students, through group and individual meetings, orientation and review sessions, supplemental seminar or study sessions, field trips, library workshops, tele-phone contact, correspondence, voicemail, email, or other activities.

● Online Courses: During an academic semester, one unit of credit is awarded for a minimum of three hours (150 minutes) of student work per week for approximately 15 weeks. All courses offered in this format shall include regular effective contact between instructor and students, through group and individual meetings, orientation and review sessions, supplemental seminar or study sessions, field trips, library workshops, tele-phone contact, correspondence, voicemail, email, or other activities.

● Co-op Courses: During an academic semester, students will work a minimum of 32 hours per week or 480 hours over the course of the 15-week semester. The University considers this workload equivalent to the aca-demic workload of a full-time student and both undergraduate and graduate students in the IPAL program will enroll in a zero-unit co-op course.

INTENSIVE DEGREE PROGRAM COURSE UNIT VALUE

● Five-Week Courses: One unit of credit is awarded for a minimum of four hours in class per week and three hours of preparation per day for five weeks.

● Seven-Week Courses: One unit of credit is awarded for a minimum of four hours in class per week and two hours of preparation per day for seven weeks.

● Six-Week Courses: One unit of credit is awarded for a minimum of four hours in class per week and two-and one-half hours of preparation per day for six weeks.

CHANGE IN COURSE UNIT VALUE

Woodbury University reserves the right to adjust the unit value of a course due to changes in curriculum. The change in unit value of a course does not affect the minimum units required for graduation.